‘FALLOWFIELD’ 

A SOLO EXHIBITION BY ARTIST CLARE ORMSBY

17 July to 24 August 2025
Admission: Free

In July 2025 ArtHouse Jersey proudly presented Fallowfield, a striking solo exhibition by acclaimed local artist Clare Ormsby at our St Helier exhibition space at Capital House.

Fallowfield was a deeply personal and imaginative exploration of abandonment, regeneration, and artistic rebirth. Rooted in the story of a miniature Victorian-style dollhouse painstakingly constructed, decorated, and ultimately destroyed by fire, the exhibition documents the life and slow demise of this small structure through photography, film, installation, and sculptural pieces. The result was a powerful meditation on memory, decay, and transformation.

What began in 2022 as a spontaneous creative experiment - inspired by the abandoned homes of post-industrial Detroit and the large-scale conceptual work of Canadian artist Heather Benning - evolved into something far more significant. Left to the elements, the dollhouse became a living installation: mould spread, birds nested, and nature reclaimed the space. Eventually, in 2024, the house was ceremoniously set alight, its destruction captured as the culmination of a long observational process.

Visitors to the show enjoyed a rich, multi-sensory experience that fuses visual storytelling with tactile memory. Drawing influence from artists including Ron Mueck, Edward Hopper, and Paul Nash, and curatorial approaches as found in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Fallowfield is an atmospheric and emotionally resonant body of work — a story not just of a house, but of artistic revival.

EVENTS

To complement the exhibition, we hosted a series of public events designed to deepen and expand the experience of Fallowfield.

• Tuesday 22 July, 6pm
  Artist’s Talk with Clare Ormsby
  Gain insights into the years-long creative journey behind the exhibition and ask your own questions in an informal conversation with the artist.

• Thursday 31 July, 9.30am–12pm
  Ikebana-Inspired Flower Arranging with Galina Todd
  Explore the beauty of impermanence through the Japanese art of flower arranging, inspired by the organic textures of Fallowfield.

• Saturday 2 August / Wednesday 6 August / Wednesday 13 August, 2pm–3.30pm
  Make Your Own Fallowfield Story with storyteller Paul Journeaux
  A creative storytelling session for all ages. Step inside the world of Fallowfield and create your own narrative based on what you see and feel.

• Wednesday 6, 13 & 20 August, 6.30pm to 8pm

  Fallowfield Writers' Group
  Join poet and writer Catherine Collin in a space for local writers of any experience or ability to develop new poetry or prose writing in response to the exhibition. Sharing session Saturday, 23 August, 4pm to 5:30pm.

• Saturday 23 August, 4pm to 5:30pm

  Fallowfield Writers' Group Sharing

  Join the Fallowfield writers' group as they share their newly written poetry and prose in response to Clare Ormsby's immersive exhibition.

• Friday 22 August, 7:30pm- 8:30pm
  A Sonic Response to Fallowfield by Esther Rose Parkes
  A special one-off performance featuring an atmospheric soundscape created in response to the exhibition’s themes of decay, memory and rebirth.